<shabon> ... this gets kind of technical ...

[David Robertson]

On Mon, 3 Apr 2000, Mike Cleven wrote:

>
> I'd also excluded HBC posts from consideration because the non-native
> communities based there were not "permanent", except perhaps for the factor;
> the French staff were migratory as was the nature of their job.

I have in mind particularly the mixed-ancestry populations of the  HBC
staff's wives and children and their relatives.

And again,
> I'd thought you were talking about the Interior of BC, which Colville and
> Camosun certainly aren't, although Colville is of course Interior.

Illustrative examples.

>
> And again, the French presence in BC was the dominant element of the
> non-native population (such as it was) of the Interior until the coming of
> American and other goldminers in 1858

I don't necessarily doubt it; my point was to consider who "the
shopkeepers" were, i.e. the people who could have been the holders of
Indians' debts rather than engaging strictly in face-to-face trading
sessions, which are finished when the goods are handed over.

Cheers,
Dave